Susan Granger’s review of “TUMBLEWEEDS” (Fine Line Films)
Why see Tumbleweeds? One very compelling reason: Janet McTeer, who’s been dubbed “the next Meryl Streep.” The plot, involving a flighty, narcissistic mother and profane, outspoken adolescent daughter who hop in a car and head for a new life in California, sounds like Anywhere But Here, but this affable, low-budget comedy is far more focused, character-driven, and less artificial than the Susan Sarandon/Natalie Portman star vehicle in which the supporting players seemed like cardboard cut-outs. Besides, there’s Janet McTeer, a remarkable, highly respected British actress who won Broadway’s Tony several years ago as Nora in a revival of Ibsen’s A Doll’s House. The Amazonian McTeer plays a working class woman from North Carolina who drags her smart-aleck teenage daughter (Kimberly J. Brown) through her many abusive, failed relationships, finally trying to settle down in Starlight Beach, a quiet seaside town near San Diego, and find happiness with a long-haul trucker (Gavin O’Connor) who’s contemptuously referred to as “the future ex-husband.” There have been four previous ex-husbands. Directed and co-written by Gavin O’Connor, the story is loosely based on the relationship between screenwriter Angela Shelton (O’Connor’s ex-wife) and her own strong-willed, free-spirited mother. And the tone of the film is curiously reminiscent of Martin Scorsese’s Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. Twitchy supporting actor Michael J. Pollard makes a brief but memorable appearance, looking not much older than he did in Bonnie and Clyde, back in 1967. On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, Tumbleweeds is a rueful but significant 7, because of Janet McTeer’s complex, funny, multi-faceted performance which includes an impeccable Southern accent.
